Of Guns and Roses
by Musei Kage
Summary: The moment Tenten stepped into Konohan High, she knew she was in the wrong place. A twist in the threads of fate has thrown our heroine into a world of gangs and rivalry; how will Tenten survive her senior year of high school? NejiTen
1. Chapter 1

Started: May 10, 2008 12:40 PM

**Of Guns and Roses**

**1. Prologue**

A NejiTen fic

By Musei Kage

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

_The moment Tenten stepped into Konohan High, she knew she was in the wrong place. _Konohan High was like no other high school in the district; reputed to be filled with gangs and violence. The students there were mostly delinquents or sent there by court and also rumoured to be descended from the yakuza. Tenten was new to the area, just arrived from the East in her senior year of high school. But it wasn't as if she had _chosen_ to attend Konohan. With her marks, the bun-haired girl could have easily gotten into Suna Academy, but unfortunately, she hadn't passed the entrance exams due to a fever on the day the exam was being written. Thus, this is how poor innocent Tenten found herself attending a school, where life as she knew it, would be turned upside down.

* * *

"Hey cutie, I don't think I've seen you around before," Tenten heard someone whistle. '_Oh shit.'_

"The name's Kiba Inuzuka," a brunette sporting odd red marks on his cheek approached her, "What's yours?"

Before Tenten could reply, from behind him, his pony-tailed friend sighed and warned, "Knock it off, Inuzuka, Ino will have your head if you don't stop flirting; especially with one of the scholarship students." He nodded his head towards Tenten to emphasize his point. It was then that Tenten noticed that no one was wearing the standard school uniform; in fact, she was the only one who was wearing it!

"My name's Tenten, thank you very much," said she.

The Chinese girl jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, "Hey now, don't pick on us scholarship students!" Tenten whirled around to see a pink haired girl with emerald eyes, beaming at her.

"I'm Sakura Haruno, don't mind these boys, they're just stupid," Sakura rolled her eyes, "Well Kiba is anyways, Shikamaru here has an IQ of 200." Tenten had to fight the urge to let her jaw drop at the number.

"Ouch Sakura, that hurt," Kiba pouted, giving a very convincing impression of a puppy dog look.

"Serves you right," someone said loudly, and out of nowhere, a left shoe smacked Kiba on the face.

"Ino-chaaaan," Kiba picked up the shoe and looked up at the pissed looking blonde warily.

"Sorry about my boyfriend, he acts like a stupid mutt sometimes," Ino glared at said boyfriend. "Anyways, nice to meet you, uh…"

"Tenten," The bun haired female introduced herself again, "My name's Tenten, I just moved here."

"A newbie to Konohan I see. Don't worry Tenten-chan, we'll take good care of you!" Ino immediately hugged her. Tenten thought to herself, '_Maybe I was wrong about this place…It's not so bad.'_

But boy was Tenten wrong.

* * *

It didn't take long for Tenten to adjust to her new life in Konoha, if you could call it adjusting. She didn't think she could ever get used to this jungle of a school. Of course, Sakura and Ino had advised her not to wear her uniform to school anymore; it would just attract more attention to her. Every morning, she would walk to school with the two loud best friends and the sweet and timid Hinata Hyuuga. Hinata didn't seem to belong to this school anymore than she did, but weirdly enough, Hinata wasn't a scholarship student and neither was Ino. Sakura was like Tenten, at Konohan High on scholarship, but Tenten could tell that there was more to it than that.

So anyways, every morning, the three of them would pick up Tenten before school and walk together. They didn't even live on the same side of town as she did though, but they insisted on walking her. Her friends all lived on the east side of town, where the land and the houses were bigger, so were the prices. But Tenten Long came from a more humble home, which lands her on the west side of town. Her father, Shen Wu, fashioned weapons as a business, from katanas to handguns. As a result, Tenten knew how to use every single one with ease. Her mother, Qi Lin, was a stay at home mom most of the time, but she ran the business with her husband also.

At school, she found herself enjoying class actually; it was a huge difference from her old school. Here, the classes were more or less run by the students, unless they liked the teacher. Teachers tended not to meddle in the students' affairs, so if a fight broke out in the hallways, they would just walk on by. This obviously made Tenten feel _totally_ safe…not.

"Tenten, would you like to go outside and join the boys' soccer team?" Kakashi asked amusedly, catching Tenten staring out the window. Tenten blushed and shook her head. Kakashi was one of the well-liked teachers in this school; he was incredibly laid back to the point of being late all the time for class and giving them lame excuses. His mask was a running joke between students, who liked to guess what his whole face looked like.

"Good, moving on-…"

_**BANG**_

The sound of a gunshot interrupted his sentence. '_Guns? This has never happened before!'_ Tenten felt her heart skip a beat. Some students screamed and hid under their desks.

"What's going on?" Tenten asked the girl next to her.

"The Akatsuki are here again, they're trying to take over Leaf territory," she explained quickly, as another shot was fired. '_Crap, what kind of school is this again?'_

"Akatsuki? Leaf? What?"

"The Leaf are a local gang, most of them attend school here. Your friends are part of it, how can you not know?"

"You mean…Ino and Sakura are…"

"Yes, geez, how stupid can you be? I thought you were a scholarship student." The girl rolled her eyes and joined her friends huddling in the corner.

Tenten exhaled the breath she realized she had been holding. To this moment, she had somehow befriended a group of gang members. She realizes that not all of the school are from gangs, which can be easily concluded by the large number of panicked looking students around the room. So what now?

If Tenten ever looked back on this moment, she'd probably agree that she'd been possessed or something of the sort, because she dashed out of the room to find her friends, who had disappeared from the classroom at some point.

The halls were crowded; by those brave enough to succumb to their curiosity. From the third floor of the school building, Tenten looked over the wall to the pavement. Below her, were 10, maybe 20, motorcycles at the entrance. Between them and the school, she recognized a number of her new friends, plus people she had never met standing. The motorcyclists all sported a deep red and black bandana on their body somewhere. The other side had blue bandanas.

Tenten wasn't sure if she should feel relived or not that it seemed the motorcycle gang leader was the only one who possessed a gun. The rest all held metal pipes, baseball bats or blunt objects of some sort.

"Tenten, over here," Tenten turned her head and saw her timid friend waving to her, a couple meters away.

"Why aren't you down there with them?" Tenten asked when she reached Hinata.

"Nii-san would never forgive me if I joined them."

"Nii-san?"

"My cousin, Neji, he goes to Konohan High too, but he's usually dealing with other business along with Lee-san."

"You mean, these past two weeks that I've been here, I never met him because he hasn't been to school?" Tenten couldn't imagine skipping classes for any more than three days. Hinata nodded.

"I just called him two minutes ago. He's going to be really angry to see the Akatsuki back again." Tenten just nodded numbly, not entirely sure what was going on.

As if on cue, the sounds of additional motorcycles were heard, and 5 more sped into the schoolyard and stopped between the two opposing sides.

"Ah, there he is," Hinata pulled her confused friend away before Tenten could catch a glimpse of whom she was referring to.

Tenten almost tripped numerous times while racing down the stairs with Hinata. She honestly never expected the timid girl to be so nimble. When they finally reached the stairs, Hinata joined Ino and Sakura's side with Tenten right next to her.

"Here, for your own protection," the fox-looking boy, whom Tenten learned was named Naruto, handed her a metal baseball bat. Tenten's eyebrow drastically shot up at the notion of fighting with the Leaf. What would her mother say if she went home with a black eye, or worse, didn't go home at all!

But nonetheless, Tenten gripped the bat tightly, ready to hit whoever was in her way.

"Ah Neji-_sama,_ how nice of you to drop by. I guess I heard wrong when someone told me that you were out of town for the week." The opposing leader smirked at the male in front of Tenten, who she guessed was Hinata's cousin. She noticed the black gun he had clipped to his jeans.

"What business do you have here, Daisuke?" Neji demanded, "Or do you just want a repeat of what happened last time." The one named Daisuke reddened fiercely at the mention of his last defeat.

"I'm done playing nice with you, Hyuuga," he pulled out a second gun and aimed it at them, ready to fire. Narrowing his eyes, he cocked his gun and turned it towards Neji's head. Before anyone could react, a shot was fired. But not from Daisuke's guns.

All eyes turned to the bun-haired girl, who was holding a handgun in her slim hands. Some were shocked and some were confused. Where did this girl come from and whose gun was she holding?

In actuality, once Tenten had seen Daisuke reach for his gun, Tenten lunged for the closest one she could find, which was Neji's. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as she aimed for the angry male's arm since she didn't want to be sentenced for murder, and with great speed, released the trigger like her dad had taught her.

A cry was heard from Daisuke, once the pain registered in his brain and the attention diverted away from her. But Neji still had his gaze fixed on her, with a hint of admiration showing. His opalescent eyes were the last things she saw before she completely passed out from the adrenaline rush. And this, my dear reader, is where the story really begins.

* * *

End Chapter 1

* * *

Finished: May 10, 2008 2:40 PM

Edited: May 31, 2011


	2. Chapter 2

Started: May 10, 2008 2:50 PM

**Of Guns and Roses**

**2. Chance Encounters**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

When Tenten woke up, she found herself staring at whiteness. Where was she? Is heaven this white? '_I must have been dreaming…'_

But a voice brought her back down to earth, "I see you're finally awake."

"Huh?" Tenten bolted and sat up, only to see stars in her vision and feel her head pounding.

A hand, attempted to 'gently' guide her back down, but more or less shoved her back onto the bed, "Don't get up so fast." Tenten opened her eyes again to see a seemingly menacing male beside her bed. He towered over her bed, and probably still would if she stood up. He owned a slim body, but Tenten could tell he had defined muscles from his broad shoulders. Long dark hair was tied into a loose ponytail at the base of his neck and he had the same light eyes as Hinata. This was most definitely Neji Hyuuga.

Tenten took the opportunity to look around her, and found that she had been brought to the infirmary.

"What are we doing here?" she groaned softly.

"You are here because my cousin wasn't thinking straight and brought you into the middle of a fight. During which, you fainted." Tenten wanted to knock herself over the head for that, "And _I_ am here because that same cousin thinks I should be thanking you for swiping my gun and shooting at another gang for me." Neji seated himself on a chair and crossed him arms. It was painfully obvious that he didn't want to be there.

Tenten rolled her eyes, "Then should I be thanking his highness for sitting here while I slept?"

"Preferably," Neji told her, the corner of his mouth curling into a half smirk.

"Eat horse dung," Tenten stuck her tongue out at him, making Neji raise his eyebrow. "So tell me," she continued, "What's this whole Leaf and Akatsuki thing about anyways?" She sat up more comfortably and looked at him with eager eyes.

"And I should be telling you this because…?" Tenten concluded that this young man enjoyed toying with her.

"I think I'm somewhat involved in this already. I mean, I shot some guy for goodness sake!"

Neji contemplated for a moment before sighing, "Two reasons. One, Konohan High is Leaf territory, thus the Akatsuki want to claim it for themselves. And two, the bastard has a crush on Hinata."

Tenten couldn't help but gawk at the second point. That, _creep,_ likes Hinata? Eww.

"Wait so-…"

"Ah," interrupted Neji, "I believe it's my turn to ask a question."

Tenten huffed at being cut off, "I didn't agree to anything like that!"

"Since you're now involved with the Leaf, I believe it's my business to ask where you acquired your skills from."

"My skills?" She tried to feign dumb.

"How did you manage to shoot Daisuke with such precision, not that I'm complaining," Neji waited for an answer.

"Oh uh…it was just a lucky shot," Tenten shrugged. She wasn't so sure if she wanted to involve her father into this.

"Are you lying to me?" Tenten blinked at the question, he was good.

"N-no," she stammered.

"I hope so." Neji's mouth grew into a full smirk and held her gaze, "Because I'm not very fond of people who deceive me." Tenten gulped, she was so screwed. Fighting the urge to tear her eyes away from his, she tried to appear defiant. At last, Neji stood up to leave much to her relief.

"Hey, don't you ever go to class?" Tenten almost clapped her hand over her mouth for blurting that out.

"Not unless it's required of me," he responded coolly. "Would you like to see me more often?" An amused smile played on his lips, watching her blush.

"It's not anything like that." Tenten shook her head. "Just that I never even knew you existed until today and I've been here for two weeks or whatnot. Don't your grades suffer since you're absent so often…?" She trailed off, realizing that she was rambling.

"Go home, Miss Long," Neji didn't answer her question and left.

The nerve of him, dismissing her like she was a servant! Wait, how did he know her last name? Crap, what if that connected her back to her dad, which of course it will! Tenten highly feared the power of Google at that moment. Then it struck her, _go home_?

She whipped out her cell phone and squeaked out loud. It was half past four; her dad would kill her for being so late!

* * *

"You make us worry too much, Tenten," Qi Lin sighed softly, handing her daughter a bowl of rice.

Tenten accepted it and brought it to the table, mumbling a quiet "Sorry mom," under her breath.

"Did anything happen at school today?" Shen Wu asked, already seated at the dining table.

"Not really," Tenten shrugged nonchalantly, "Kakashi-sensei was bonked on the head by chalk dust erasers again."

Her dad chuckled, "Your class is certainly very rowdy."

"You don't even know the half of it," smiled Tenten.

"I still regret that you didn't get into Suna," her mother looked wistful.

Tenten picked up a piece of meat and placed it into her mother's bowl, "Don't worry about it mom, I'll be fine at Konohan. At least I won't be at the bottom of the class, right?" She said it with a smile, but inside, Tenten could only wish that she could convince herself of that. Her biggest fear was not surviving until graduation!

* * *

Later that night, Tenten was in her room, diligently finishing up her homework like the model student she was. A knock on her door averted her attention.

"Come in," she answered. Qi Lin came into her room, her eyes shining brightly. She strode across the room to Tenten and placed something in her hand. Looking down, Tenten stared at the 50 dollar bill, perplexed.

"I know your school doesn't require uniforms," her mom explained, and Tenten winced at the lie she had told. "Use the money to buy yourself something nice, okay? Moving and changing schools must have been hard on you, so I want to help you fit into your new school." Qi Lin patted her hand affectionately and Tenten nodded, though slightly guilty for lying to her mom about the uniform thing.

When Qi Lin left, Tenten placed the bill on top of her desk, wondering what to do with it. She wasn't much of a shopoholic, so it was probably time to call in the professionals. Picking up the phone, she dialled a number she had just recently memorized.

"Hey Sakura?"

* * *

Tenten met with Sakura, Ino and Hinata the next day at the shopping mall, the former two being very excited.

"So which store should we hit first?" Ino grinned, surveying the different store signs in front of them.

"Some place cheap would be nice," Tenten suggested, "I don't want to blow all my money on one item."

"You're so frugal, even worse than Hina," sighed Sakura.

Tenten bit her lip, "But Hinata has the money to spare. I don't!" She glanced apologetically at said girl for putting her on the spot.

Ino threw up her hands, "Fine, I know just the place."

Ten minutes later they were going through countless number of clothing racks looking for the perfect outfits.

Ino giggled, holding up tops to herself in the mirror, "I haven't enjoyed myself so much for a while now."

Hinata nodded, neatly folding back up what she had tried on. "It has been a little busy."

"Yeah, ever since, you know…" Sakura trailed off, realizing that Tenten had no idea what they were talking about. "Never mind." She shook her head.

Tenten shrugged, not minding the secrecy, she was still new, she understood. Picking up a soft summery yellow top, she threw it at Sakura.

"Try it on," said Tenten simply. Sakura nodded, forgetting the conversation, and giddily made a beeline towards the fitting rooms.

"I'm poor again," Tenten mused almost sadly after they'd paid for their purchases.

Ino turned to her, "Maybe you should find yourself a job?" she suggested.

"I don't really have the time for it," she responded, making a face.

"You know what? I can't believe Hinata was the one who bought the most out of all of us," Sakura commented, making us all glance at the numerous bags she was holding. Hinata blushed embarrassedly.

"Nii-san said that it was alright if I splurge once in a while."

"Speaking of Hyuuga, how is he?" Someone spoke from behind Tenten, making her hair stand on end. Ino yanked her away as she was frozen on the spot.

Sakura growled, "Screw off, Kabuto."

Said male smiled politely at them, and something about him sent chills down Tenten's spine. But what scared her most was the fact that he wasn't alone, and she certainly didn't have Neji's gun to use like last time!

* * *

End of Chapter 2

* * *

Finished: January 2, 2009 1:17 PM (SAY WHAT?)


	3. Chapter 3

Start: Feb 25 2009 12:19 AM

**Of Guns and Roses**

**3. The Forecast**

By Musei Kage

Disclaimer: Musei Kage does not own Naruto and this story is not written for profit.

* * *

For Tenten, shopping had never been dangerous. Sure, the odd big sale her mother brought her to might've put her in danger of being trampled by desperate shoppers, but never had she resented going shopping this much. Isn't your wallet the only thing that's supposed to be endangered in the sport of shopping? Apparently that's not the case for Konoha.

Tenten hid a wince when she felt Ino's nails dig into her skin, her grip on Tenten's arm tightened when Kabuto took a step forward. It was Sakura who stood up bravely against the older man, her tone containing contempt, "What do you want, Kabuto?"

Kabuto shook his head, "There's no need to become hostile Miss Haruno; it was only a mere coincident that we met today. I swear to you that I have no ulterior motive for being here, I just wanted to say hello." Ino couldn't suppress the snort of disbelief, since when did Akatsuki play nice? Hinata glanced over at them warily, unsure what to make of the situation.

"Well you've said your hellos, please leave now," Sakura responded, her right arm resting akimbo on her hip. Tenten felt her heart speed up; to her it didn't seem like a very sound decision to piss this guy off. His goons she could care less about, they didn't look sober anyways.

Kabuto feigned a hurt look, "Now, now, is that anyway to talk to a friend?"

"Friend, my ass," Tenten heard Ino growl from her side. The air was tense around them, and Tenten's fingers twitched, wanting to grab her phone and call…well, anyone would do, even 911!(1) But before anyone could even move, a new voice cut in to the conversation.

"Kabuto, what are you doing?" The voice was low and baritone, completely foreign to Tenten but the look on her friends' faces made her believe that they knew the speaker. Spiked black hair came in to view from behind Kabuto, and a sombre looking man strode over, clearly looking pissed.

"Sasuke, just in time," Kabuto smirked, "Won't you say hi to your old friends?" Dark grey eyes scanned the girls coolly, but didn't greet them.

"You're putting us behind schedule," he only said, and turned to leave.

"Seems our time is cut short, good bye ladies," Kabuto smiled again and followed after the sullen male.

"Sasuke!" Tenten whipped her head around to see Sakura clap a hand over her mouth as if not believing she'd just exclaimed that. He turned to regard her and met eyes with the pink haired girl, but their gazes only locked for a moment before he averted his gaze and left without looking back again. Ino rubbed her best friend's back comfortingly while tears began to pour from her emerald eyes, leaving Tenten in a state of confusion. Twice in 2 days she'd been roped into the ever so complicated affairs of the Leaf. Twice she'd feared for her life. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.

* * *

But as much as Tenten was bursting to bomb her friends with questions, she didn't have the heart to do it in the state Sakura was in. Sitting beside her in the backseat of the car, the usually energetic girl was staring blankly out the window, only moving to wipe a stray tear away once in a while. Ino and Hinata chatted in the front while the blonde drove, but the tension in the air was hard to miss.

Tenten reached over and touched her friend's arm, silently asking if she was all right. Sakura smiled in response, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine, really. Sasuke's just an old flame."

"Old flame? He never even properly broke up with-," Ino clamped her hand over her mouth before she said too much.

"Wait, so this Sasuke person just left without telling you?" A frown graced Tenten's features, what kind of a jerk was this guy? "How come you were dating someone from the Tiger gang? I'd think there was some rule against that…"

Hinata turned to face the back, "Sasuke wasn't an Akatsuki member to begin with; he switched sides." Tenten glanced over at Sakura again, who seemed to become gloomier with each fact, causing Tenten not to pursue the subject. It could wait and it frankly wasn't her business anyhow.

"We're here," Ino informed them as she pulled into a large circular driveway. Tenten peered out the window, suddenly fully aware that she was in the wrong side of town. The expansive Hyuuga Estate stood before her and she gaped in awe. Somehow she still couldn't rid her mind of the usual gang stereotype, with the slums and all. This was a whole different level of reality.

But the half dozen motorcycles standing in the driveway, accompanied by their owners, shattered the ethereal image of the building.

"Kiba, where are you guys going?" Ino stopped next to his silver and red striped bike.

"Revenge, what else?" he grinned, sharp canines poking out mischievously.

Sakura was suddenly standing outside the car, realizing they had already caught wind of the mall incident. "No, there's no need. They didn't hurt us or anything!" She pleaded to Naruto, who usually listened to her.

"As much as I'd rather stay out of this, the Akatsuki have to know not to mess with _any_ of us," Shikamaru explained, leaning against his own bike. "Otherwise, they'll give us more trouble later on"

"Please Naruto, can't you just let it go?" Sakura stared at her friend hopefully. Naruto seemed pained, he didn't want to go to hurt Sasuke either - they were best friends after all. But he also had loyalty to the Leaf. He looked back at Neji, who nodded silently.

"But next time, if they even lay a finger on you, we're not looking back," Naruto promised.

Sakura nodded, her pink hair bobbing. The blonde boy broke into his usual grin again. "Hey, hey, want a ride then since we have nothing to do?"

"Only if I get to drive," she smiled, thankful to have a friend like Naruto.

He made a face, "What? No way! No one drives this baby except me!" Naruto patted his orange and blue decal bike possessively and the two dove into another one of their arguments.

"Yes! A road trip! Tenten, are you coming?" Ino jumped onto the back of Kiba's bike and beckoned her friend to join the group.

"Nah, not in the mood," she shook her head, "You guys have fun though."

"We'll be back soon," Hinata smiled softly from behind Shino. Tenten waved and laughed as they sped off, followed by a cloud of dust and faint shouting from Sakura and Naruto.

"Do you need a lift home?" Tenten jumped, not realizing that Neji was still with her.

"Oh, you didn't go?"

He shook his head, "Mine is in the shop." He explained, referring to his motorcycle. The stood silently for a moment, Tenten suddenly finding the dirt on her shoes very interesting, and Neji observed her from his position.

"Since I'm here," She finally piped up, "Do you think you can give me a tour?"

* * *

Tenten was semi-surprised when he agreed, and she found herself being led around the estate by a tour guide who should definitely stick to his day job, whatever that was.

"The dining room," Neji pointed towards a large dining hall furnished with a long table and numerous chairs surrounding it under a large chandelier. As if that didn't speak for itself…

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Yes, and this is the stairs, am I right?" She pointed to the winding staircase that led downstairs to the basement.

"You are the one who asked for this tour," he reminded as he descended to where she pointed.

"And you can bet I regret it…" she muttered under her breath. Only Neji could make this beautiful estate feel like she was in some boring old museum. She followed him down the stairs and was temporarily lost in the dark until Neji flipped a switch somewhere. Lights flood the room and she squinted to see human shaped cut outs on the far side of the wall with black rings imprinted on it. Who the heck kept a shooting range under their house? From the corner of her eye, she noticed the Hyuuga place his hands on a scanning device before it beeped and the wall slid open to reveal a room filled with various weapons. Tenten gulped.

"It seems that you weren't entirely truthful with me the other day, Tenten." Now she _really_ regretted asking for the tour. Neji saw the panicked look on her face and continued. "I looked into your family, your father, Shen Wu, was a member of this organization."

Tenten frowned, "Wait, he was?"

"Not only was he a member, but he helped build it with my uncle and my father," Neji watched for her reaction, but was met with one of pure surprise and confusion. "Do you deny that this is true?"

She shook her head fervently, "I only know that my dad _was_ part of some gang when he was younger, but he never told me which one. He said he left because he wanted to get away from all that. I didn't want to get him involved since he's done with it other than some weapons dealing. And…"

"Enough," Neji cut her off, seemingly satisfied with her answer. "I don't require your entire family history. So long as I have your word that you will not lie to me again, you are not under any threat." He tossed a gun towards her, a Glock, which she was familiar with.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, cradling the weapon in her hand. He saw the lack of fear she had while holding it, instead there was almost a tinge of excitement in her eyes.

"I want to see your skill," he said, throwing her a pair of earplugs.

She was puzzled, but also slightly afraid to argue with him. There was a tense atmosphere in the room and she knew he was testing her. But for what, she wasn't sure. Wedging in the earplugs, she glanced back at him and he nodded. She positioned herself and raised the weapon with both hands.

Firing successively, she didn't even blink. An air of calm surrounded her still when the noise died down. When the civilian target wheeled up towards them, they both saw that her shots had all landed within the centre ring.

"Impressive," Neji nodded in approval, and she felt strangely proud of herself. "We could use a skilled marksman like you." He tossed something at her, which she caught with her free hand. He seemed to enjoy throwing things at her today. It was cloth, and heavy. Looking at her hand, she saw the same blue bandana she'd seen the Leaf members sporting, with the same metal plate and insignia.

Wait, what?

* * *

End Chapter 3

* * *

Completed: May 31, 2011

Notes:

(1) North American number for emergencies?

A/N: Trying my best to get back into things. Sorry! This is kind of a limbo chapter, before I can really squeeze out some sold plot points. Someone asked about pairings, and I'm hesitant to straight up tell you what they are because other than Neji and Tenten, it's not really what I want to focus on. So for now, they'll just pop up here or there, unfortunately. Thanks for your patience!


End file.
